Performances of In the Green, a new musical by and starring Grace McLean, begin tonight. Lee Sunday Evans directs the production, which runs at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theater.
Just got out of tonight’s first preview. It’s a weird show. They’re clearly still working through a lot—the house opened at the time the show was supposed to start, and they started about 15-20 mins late. There were some technical difficulties throughout with Grace’s looper and the set—a stagehand had to come out and help the turntable rotate. It’s certainly unique, and I’m glad this kind of work is being supported by Lincoln Center. But it left much of the audience confused. All five actors are superb. Grace is clearly pouring her heart into this one, and it shows. Hopefully it improves with previews!
Was there tonight and I thought it was terrific. The spoken dialogue needs some work, but the chamber opera part of it is excellent with dazzlingly complex and haunting music and an equivocally powerful story. Lee Sunday Evans did terrific work, particularly with the visual aesthetic.
Christian theming in musical theatre is really making quite the comeback.
Yesterday's matinee was beautifully sung. The score is indeed complex and the voices of all up to the task. I just didn't find the story very compelling.
Bumping this thread because the cast recording came out today. While I appreciated the show for what it was doing, I did think it would translate better as a recording. Also it's nice to have a new musical to listen to these days.
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
Thanks for letting us know! I actually forgot the album was coming up. And yes, I agree with your assessment - it was one of the few musicals that I actually thought would have worked better with a concert format, so that we could just focus on the music and the creative use of sound and voices. And it's very rare for me to say that, because usually I'm in the camp of "make things as fully-produced as you can."
I missed that this was getting a recording entirely. I thought it was a fascinating piece, with a great score and performances, even if it didn't fully cohere. McLean is a daring musical theater composer and I'm glad it's preserved.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."